Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has revealed that the government is set to recover over GH¢150.4 million in unearned salaries, after a nationwide audit exposed widespread payroll irregularities in the public sector.
Addressing Parliament during the 2025 Mid-Year Budget Review on Thursday, July 24, Dr. Forson stated, “As part of the fiscal consolidation strategy, we have taken measures to sanitize public sector payroll and take off ghost names. Subsequently, we engaged the Ghana Audit Service to undertake a nationwide payroll [audit].”
According to him, the Ghana Audit Service has completed 91% of the audit, uncovering thousands of questionable entries on the government payroll. “So far, the Audit Service has not been able to identify or verify over 14,000 workers,” he disclosed.
He further explained that the audit found 53,311 ‘separated staff’ — individuals who were either retired, reassigned, terminated, on leave without pay, or deceased — yet still drawing salaries from the public purse.
“The Audit Service expects to recover a minimum of GH¢150.4 million in unearned salary from the separated staff over the period of 2023 and 2024 alone,” Dr. Forson noted.
He warned that the government will not only retrieve the funds but also tighten oversight mechanisms to prevent future abuses. “Going forward, we’ll enforce the monthly payroll validation process and sanction all those who validate ghosts for payment of salary,” he assured.
